Michael Cheika opens up on rollercoaster ride with Wallabies

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Former Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika

FUKUROI, JAPAN - OCTOBER 11: Australia Head Coach Michael Cheika during the pre match warm up ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Group D game between Australia and Georgia at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa on October 11, 2019 in Fukuroi, Shizuoka, Japan. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Former head coach Michael has admitted the fallout of the Rugby and his subsequent exit still ‘hurts’.

A quarter- loss to England in sunk the Wallabies to lowly depths and was in stark contrast to the success at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which saw Cheika’s stock shoot up after reaching the final at .

Results had been in decline leading into the tournament last , including losing the home series against Ireland in 2018 and the 46-0 hammering by the in last summer.

With reports of a public spat with Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle after the tournament, Cheika’s five-year tenure with the ended with his resignation last November.

“Am I satisfied in the end? No, because I wanted to win a Bledisloe and win the World Cup and I wasn’t able to do that,” Cheika told Fox Sports League Live.

“That hurts me personally because I really value the supporter on the street and I know that’s what they want.

“I see it in my own family. The kids are watching the game, all dressed in their jerseys and then the next morning, if you lose, they’re unhappy. So I feel it in my own family.”

After his acrimonious exit and the appointment of Dave Rennie as his successor following soon thereafter, it is unsurprising to see Cheika ditch Union and switch codes.

Now working as a consultant with NRL side Sydney Roosters, Cheika, the son of Lebanese immigrants, suggested he was safe in coaching rather than dealing with the bureaucracy.

“I’ve always been an outsider in rugby, outside the establishment,” Cheika added.

“Considering the circumstances we had going on in Australian rugby in the last five years, we always represented with maximum courage.

“Sometimes we weren’t at our best, had terrible halves and had to make comebacks.

“And we had some great wins as well. Our consistency was lacking.”

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